ListeningAug 15, 2008

Joyous Descent!

by Mike Deri Smith

You may not understand what Shugo Tokumaru is singing, or where his song is heading, but you can feel where it's coming from.

The only words I can make out are all day holiday and parachuteShugo Tokumaru sings the rest in Japanese at great speed. Tokumaru’s Parachute offers neither serene floating nor salvation; it is a fast-thinking, multi-instrumental, standing-to-attention kind of song. Bells, guitar, glockenspiel are all played quickly and causes slight panicbut it’s the voice that stops that chute from opening: How does it sound so carefree? Falling to such twee-pop music, knowing that you can pull the cord and be saved at any moment, is an adrenaline rush. Most parachute jumps in one day? 640. Just don’t listen to this song every time. Listen to it once. Now.